Amy Goldman is preserving the agricultural heritage and genetic diversity of heirloom fruits and vegetables.

Fully ripe disease-free tomatoes are the best candidates for seed saving. Seeds can be saved casually by, for example, squeezing them out in a paper napkin and air drying them, but fermentation is a better route. It removes germination inhibitors and the gelatinous sheath from seeds, and it may treat some seed-borne diseases. Read more →

Collect seeds from standard or open-pollinated varieties only—not from store-bought fruit or F1 hybrids whose seeds may be impure or not breed true. To ensure maximum seed purity, grow melon or squash in isolation from other varieties with which they could cross-pollinate—or learn to hand pollinate. Read more →